Return Of The Strongest Player

Arthur unsheathed Skofnung, coating it with Sun Energy before blasting it towards the spectre, ending its life instantaneously. He then rushed towards the person maintaining first place, intending to get revenge.

[00:00:23]

[00:00:24]

Bam!

Arthur swung Skofnung, releasing Sun Energy as he collided with the first-place competitor. The man–who possessed silver hair and amethyst eyes–grinned, forming a barrier that managed to withstand the intensity of the Sun Energy.

Arthur closed in on the silver-haired man, exchanging blows while the two competed for first place.

"I've heard a lot about you, Mr. Solace," the man announced as swung his arm, shooting hundreds of shards of ice towards Arthur as he bounced off a nearby wall in order to avoid the crimson-eyed man's blow. "But it seems it was quite inaccurate."

"Is that right?" Arthur chuckled at those words, igniting Skofnung with Sword Aura as he thrust the tip of the blade forward, creating a vortex and a point of impact that carried most of the force used. "It's rude to fight without introducing yourself, you know?"

"You didn't introduce yourself."

"Did I need to?"

The man chuckled before clenching his teeth, creating three barriers in order to obstruct the trajectory of Arthur's attack. However, unfortunately for him, Skofnung shattered all three barriers, wounding the side of his abdomen.

As blood dripped from the wound, his expression crumpled like a sheet of paper. 

However, the man was quick to regain composure, as a smile blossomed on his face yet again. "Well, Mr. Solace, I'm Kyler Agardia."

Arthur raised an eyebrow, observing the silver-haired. ''This' is the future Magic Emperor?'

The crimson-eyed man couldn't help but scoff at Kyler, casting a condescending glance at the man as if mocking him. The Magic Emperor was a prideful, powerful man who was the first to ascend to the position of a Divine Ranker after many centuries during Arthur's former life.

The man became a Divine Ranker even before Arthur and could be considered one of the greatest prodigies of the tower.

But the man before Arthur at that moment was not the Magic Emperor.

It couldn't be.

At least, at first glance.

'Let's see how this plays out,' Arthur muttered internally.

"Mr. Solace, how about we refrain from fighting so early on?" Kyler asked, glancing at the chaotic scene behind him. "The other dumbasses are catching up. You don't wish to lose first place, do you?"

Arthur nodded, and the two sped up. Their wordless partnership was a testament to the difference between them and the crowd.

Arthur wished to finish the trial as quickly as possible, as he needed to conserve his strength for the real battle. He glanced at Kyler, who seemed focused on maintaining a certain speed.

However, Arthur could sense his wariness, which in turn increased his cautiousness around the man.

'He wasn't the Magic Emperor for no reason, so there should be something special about him,' Arthur muttered internally. Usually, he would welcome a tough battle, but his objective held higher importance than pleasure.

"A horde of spectres," Kyler announced, his eyes glowing a deeper shade of amethyst as he reinforced his vision using Magic, peering into the distance as he scrunched his eyebrows. Arthur stretched [Divine Sense] across his surroundings. "Around 200."

The two glanced at each other, wondering whether to scheme or cooperate this once to eliminate future troubles.

"You take 100, I take 100," Arthur suggested, to which Kyler nodded almost instantly.

The two parted ways, attempting to lure their share of spectres to each side. Arthur gazed at the translucent entities with ghost-like bodies and the absence of a definitive face. He clicked his tongue, recalling his past experiences with these pests.

'There was a time I was facing millions of these things…' Arthur muttered internally, shaking his head in annoyance. 'That battle took me like a day. Plus, the existence of thousands of Spectre Kings made it even more difficult.'

Arthur quickly slipped on Bladesteel's Helmet, smiling at the faint sense of invigoration that arose. With the mana stone pumping mana continuously, Arthur rushed towards the horde, igniting his crimson Sword Aura.

A blinding glow spilled from Skofnung, reinforcing and augmenting the blade beyond its usual capabilities. 

'I don't need the State Of Mushin for this,' Arthur concluded, swinging at a certain spectre that burst into millions of particles before dissipating. However, the deafening screech that escaped its body as it faded away into oblivion continued to scratch at Arthur's earbuds.

'Yep, this is why these things are so annoying.'

Their screeching, however, was only partially the reason for their "pest" status.

As Arthur continued to swing Skofnung without hesitation, he utilized mana to obstruct his earbuds, refusing to put himself through such torture. With his current strength, eliminating merely one hundred spectres should take only half a minute.

And, it was quite easy.

So, while engaging in combat with the spectres, Arthur began observing Kyler's fighting style, attempting to collect information for their eventual encounter. 

Kyler coated his arms with azure flames, engulfing a dozen spectres at once within the inescapable flames of destruction. With glowing eyes, and erratic breathing due to excess physical activity as a magician, along a high mastery of magic, Arthur began to notice the peculiarities within the man's character.

His future position was not without merit.

At one point, the Magic Emperor had been one of Arthur's greatest rivals. Although they had only met a few times and threw hands once–without determining the winner–the two were the only newbies of the batch that achieved Divine Ranker status without assistance from other Divine Rankers.

And, once they shattered the resistance, it wasn't long before many stars began rising, claiming their place on the 98th floor.

'We were pioneers,' thought Arthur, chuckling to himself as he skillfully eradicated the batch of spectres without breaking a sweat, continuing to observe Kyler with amusement vivid in his crimson pupils.

Kyler raised an arm, allowing golden lightning to crackle while swarming his forearm, producing a blinding light. Suddenly, he dropped his hand, initiating an onslaught upon the spectres, that seemed so innocent at that very moment.

With his forehead draped in beads of sweat, Kyler continued to conjure powerful spells, destroying batches of spectres while blocking his ears using magic, which seemed to be doing wonders.

The magic density suddenly rose, prompting Kyler to shatter the cold, hard floor of the cave through a mixture of Earth and Water Magic. Water spilled from the massive crater, drowning the spectres in a substance they could not resist.

At that moment, Kyler extended his palm, allowing an unparalleled amount of mana to course across it.

"Watch this," Kyler muttered, turning his head slightly for his vision to engulf Arthur's figure. He then smirked, directing a condescending stare at the crimson-eyed man as he prepared to eradicate all spectres once and for all.

'Ah, his beloved trump card,' Arthur noticed, nodding in acknowledgment. 

His entire body–enshrouded by a layer of whiteness that seemed to contain unparalleled power capable of destroying worlds themselves–shook violently, enduring the pressure of such a massive amount of mana.

His expression grew strained, while beads of sweat formed atop his forehead.

Suddenly, with his hair fluttering in the sweeping wind, an invisible cylindrical path, or tunnel formed, connecting Kyler and his foes indirectly.

"Cataclysm."

As if the world was dyed white, energy burst from Kyler's palm, while his body released pressure capable of crushing boulders. Arthur didn't witness the actual attack, but as the smoke subsided, it was obvious that all spectres, including those on his side, had perished within milliseconds.

Kyler released a few coughs before rejuvenating himself through a white pill that seemed to contain mana fluctuations. "All right, let's move on."

Arthur released a defeated sigh, shaking his head sarcastically as they continued running. However, a hint of wariness grew in the crimson-eyed man's heart, which only enlarged once Kyler recovered from the strain within seconds.

It was as if the destructive attack could be performed several times without consequences.

[00:01:03]

[00:01:04]

As the two continued racing through the cave, they began conversing, attempting to throw the other off.

"We have company," Arthur muttered as an expression of annoyance appeared on his face. Kyler scrunched his eyebrows as his eyes glowed, but eventually, he nodded in acceptance. 

"There are 4. You take 2, I take 2?"

"Sure," replied Arthur as the two parted yet again, engaging the four other players.

However, the crimson-eyed man wasn't planning on simply wasting time. As he appeared before the two men, of which one was blonde and the other possessed grey hair, Arthur blitzed towards them, decapitating them in an instant. 

Then, he glanced at Kyler, who still seemed to be focused on the battle.

'This is where we part.' 

With those words, Arthur glanced at a certain marking etched onto a particular wall in the cave, rushing towards it with Skofnung unsheathed.

Crack!

With a single slash, he shattered the wall, unveiling what lay behind.